1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention generally relates to a seat assembly for a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
School buses include a seat assembly for transporting passengers and more specifically, school buses incorporate several seat assemblies into the school bus in rows. The seat assembly includes a seat bottom extending generally horizontally and a seatback coupled to the seat bottom and extending generally vertically relative to the seat bottom. In some configurations, the passengers are free to move about the school bus without being restrained in the seat assembly. In other words, the passengers are not buckled into seatbelts to restrain movement of the passengers. In seat assemblies that do not include seatbelts, federal regulatory standards require that the seatback collapse controllably forward when the passenger seated behind pitches forward and strikes the seatback such that the seatback absorbs energy from the uncontrollably moving passenger. Such an arrangement is referred to in industry as compartmentalized seating. In such a configuration, the forward rotation of the seatback is unlimited.
Recently a longstanding debate as to whether school buses should be equipped with seatbelts has intensified, with those favoring seatbelt usage on the school buses now prevailing. As a result, more and more school buses are now being equipped with seatbelt assemblies. Public pressure is building to require all school buses be equipped with seatbelt assemblies. A strong consensus has already developed requiring the seatbelt assemblies include a lap/shoulder belt combination that is selectively extendable from a retractor, similar to designs now installed in most modern automobiles.
In such a configuration, the seatbelt assembly is mounted to the seatback and the seatback remains stationary relative to the school bus in order for the seatbelt to properly lock and restrain the passenger. In other words, the retractor prevents the belt from extending from the retractor and the belt restrains the passenger in the seat assembly when the passenger's momentum urges the passenger to move relative to the seatback. However, in such a configuration, the benefits of the compartmentalized seating are lost, i.e., the seatback does not controllably collapse to absorb energy when a passenger uncontrollably moves forward and strikes the seatback. Because school buses are often used to transport children, it is foreseeable that in a school bus equipped with seatbelt assemblies that some children will buckle their seatbelts while some other children will forget or refuse to buckle their seatbelts.
It would be advantageous to develop a seat assembly wherein the seatback is capable of rotating relative to the seat bottom to absorb energy when unbuckled passengers uncontrollably move forward and strike a seatback while also mounting the seatbelt assembly in a configuration wherein the seatbelt assembly properly functions when the passenger is buckled into the seatbelt.